Gilbert Burdon
Article by Alan Trout
Born in 1887, Gilbert Burdon rode occasionally on the Flat before the First World War and again in the early 1920s but recorded his sole success over jumps.
Apprenticed to Gilbert Steel, who trained at Ayr, he had his first ride on Mon Ange in the Holm Hill Handicap at Carlisle on July 3, 1906, finishing fifth of ten, having been badly away, in a race won by Fred Howey on Spark.
Five years passed before he rode his only winner. Carlisle was again the venue, with Irish Jig coming home a comfortable eight-length winner of the Cummersdale Maiden Hurdle from Mysterious Mick on Easter Monday, April 17, 1911. He did not ride over jumps again after that season.
During World War One he served as a Sergeant in the Army Veterinary Corps. When the war was over, he continued to ride on the Flat until 1922.
